You’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, but your dining room isn’t quite big enough to fit your entire family. What do you do? You need to get creative. When hosting a big dinner party in a small home, there are a few major decorating tricks you can use that will make your home feel bigger than it really is. We’ve rounded up 3 of the most creative ways to fit a big Thanksgiving crowd into a small home.

Make the Biggest Space Your Dining Space

Kitchen dining room table setup for the holidays
Spacious seating Westelm

When you live in a small home, you need to get creative when it comes to hosting a big dinner party such as Thanksgiving. That means you’ll have to move furniture. Chances are if you live in a small home, your dining room - if you have one - is also small. Hopefully you have either an open floor plan or a large living room instead. Switch your dining room and living room for the night. It may seem like a lot of work, but if you enlist the help of friends and family (and promise to pay them back with delicious Thanksgiving turkey) it will be much easier than you think. Move the living room furniture against the walls or into other rooms and bring the dining table and chairs into the living room. If you don’t have an extendable table, you may have to rent an extra long table or a couple of shorter tables as well as some chairs. Don’t worry about matching anything. Mixed furniture is ultra chic and stylish. Then, turn the dining room into the buffet room or dessert room (or both).

Make Stations to Keep the Party Flowing

An impressive display of kitchen goodness
Walk up stations Jackie Reeve

Since the kitchen is the heart of any home, many guests like to converge there during a party. If your kitchen isn’t big enough, create stations around your home to keep guests from lingering. If you have the room, make separate stations for drinks, appetizers, and desserts. This will keep guests flowing around your home rather than having all of them crowded in one place. Keep in mind, however, that you should keep these stations away from the main entry, the bathroom, or any other area that will have heavy foot traffic. Alternately, you can use serving stations to block off rooms and areas that you don’t want your guests to have access to.

Take it Outside

Outdoor dining table experience
Exterior dining Camille Styles

Have a tiny home but an oversized backyard? Have Thanksgiving outside. Whether you live in a colder climate or a warmer one, there are ways to take advantage of the great outdoors. Use a frame tent with sidewalls or set up outdoor heaters to keep everyone warm. You can also stock up on warm blankets, hats, and scarves for your guests to use. After dinner, you can light your fire pit and enjoy your backyard with friends and family. No matter what your scenario, there’s a way to host an amazing Thanksgiving dinner for any size crowd in any size house.

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